"War is what happens when language fails." -Margaret Atwood. I have to admit that right now that quote annoys me, and so I disagree. War is what happens when one group (or more than one group) decides that they WANT more ____ (you fill in the blank). It really has nothing to do with language. Greed and hate are the two main causes of war- you hate this person, because you believe that they did this, so you must get rid of them, or overpower them, so you can control them. Or you just want more power, so you'll try to get it through any means. Or you want more money, which can be translated into power. So really it comes down to power and hate. Rarely does a war happen because someone forgot to communicate something to another. Though I suppose there are always those who follow their leaders out of ignorance, because they've failed to educate themselves, and therefore help perpetuate any horrible things their tyrant wants to do. While if people were more educated, and wise they could prevent someone from taking power who would be a tyrant, and cause war.
I guess the reason I dislike that quote is because I feel Ms. Atwood is saying, if we just talked it out everything would be better, we wouldn't fight. There are evil people in the world, and no amount of talking with them will make them change their minds about what they want. Those people you have to fight; they are the real cause for war in almost every case, if not every case.